LASSI-L characterizes episodic memory problems in post-COVID condition

This cross-sectional study compared 157 patients with post-COVID condition and 74 healthy controls to clarify which episodic-memory processes are affected. Participants completed a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation that included the LASSI-L, the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test, the Open-Trial Selective Reminding Test, and a questionnaire about subjective cognitive difficulties. The design allowed the researchers to examine encoding, acquisition, storage, retrieval, and semantic-interference effects rather than relying on a single memory score.

Patients with post-COVID condition performed worse than controls across the memory measures, with evidence of problems in several stages of memory and significant susceptibility to retroactive semantic interference. Among the tests, LASSI-L performance showed the strongest association with subjective memory complaints. The positive contribution of the LASSI-L was its process-level sensitivity and ecological relevance: it helped connect patients’ lived experience of memory difficulty with measurable interference effects, offering a richer profile that may guide characterization and future intervention studies in post-COVID cognitive dysfunction.